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PlayStation and the environment

As well as providing the best place to play, we’re dedicated to reducing our environmental impact.

Our products

We’ve reduced our products’ environmental impact in a number of ways, including:

Reducing the use of hazardous materials

Labelling plastic components to aid recycling

Minimising the energy use of our products

Reducing the use of hazardous materials

Sony aims to phase out the use of “environmentally controlled substances” in its products.

All of our batteries and our PlayStation Vita screens are mercury free. Mercury is often used in batteries and screens; however, incorrect disposal can cause environmental pollution.

Chlorine or bromine based flame-retardants are not used in our console casings. Some brominated flame-retardants in waste materials carry a risk of releasing harmful substances into the environment if improperly incinerated.

Our production materials

We’ve reduced the weight of PlayStation products over time to use fewer materials, in turn lowering the carbon footprint associated with raw materials production.

PlayStation 4

Since PlayStation 4 launched in 2013 we’ve reduced its weight by 23%

PlayStation 3

Since PlayStation 3 launched in 2007 we’ve reduced its weight by 58%

PlayStation Vita

Since PlayStation Vita launched in 2012 we’ve reduced its weight by 17%

PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 cover parts and body frames consist of recyclable ABS and Polycarbonate (PC) components to assist in the end of life recycling of our products. Wherever feasible we label plastic components weighing more than 20g with their composition(1).

To increase the recyclability of our packaging, we use carton-based packaging for PlayStation 3 and Playstation 4 and not EPS (polystyrene).

Energy use and efficiency

We are committed to reducing our energy consumption and eliminating the emissions of greenhouse gases. We will achieve this by implementing energy-saving measures for new technologies.

Since PlayStation 3 launched we’ve reduced its power consumption in gaming mode by over 60%, and standby mode by over 80%.

By optimising PlayStation 4, average power consumption during gaming has fallen by around 43% since launch(2) .

Since PlayStation Vita launched in 2012, we’ve reduced the power it consumes by 27%.

PlayStation 4 uses a number of energy saving technologies, including an efficient power-supply, an integrated “System on a Chip” processor that scales its power consumption with use, as well as efficient GDDR5 RAM memory. As a result, PlayStation 4 consumed less than half of the power consumption of PlayStation 3 at launch for the navigation (home screen) function, despite being an order of magnitude more powerful.

The energy efficient chip architecture and power management features within PlayStation 4 help save an estimated 50kWh/yr electricity consumption for each console sold when compared with its predecessor (equivalent to 1.4% of a household’s average electricity consumption in European countries).(3)

We’ve also introduced an Auto Power Down feature for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 that switches your console into standby mode after 20 minutes inactivity. PlayStation 4 also includes a number of power management features in its “Rest mode” that save energy, including a ‘Resume’ feature that remembers your place in a game after your console has powered down.

For more detailed information on the power consumption of PlayStation 3 and Playstation 4 please see the energy efficiency section playstation.com/Energyefficiency.

Since PlayStation Vita launched in 2012 we’ve reduced its weight by 17% and the power it consumes by 27%.

Where we can, we mark PlayStation Vita plastic components so that different plastics can be easily identified during recycling(1).

We only use chlorine-free and bromine-free flame-retardants in our PlayStation Vita casing.

We use carton-based packaging so that it can be recycled easily.

To conserve energy the PlayStation Vita will go into the standby mode when it is idle for a certain period of time.

PlayStation Vita packaging is recyclable – contact your local authority to find out about recycling options in your area.

Please ensure your PlayStation Vita is recycled and disposed of correctly in accordance with any applicable local laws or requirements.

(1) We don’t mark plastic parts in the following cases: the part has <1cm2 level surface available for marking; the performance or function of a part is compromised e.g. buttons with tactile surface, plastic lenses, or display screens; external transparent parts; marking is not technically possible due to the specific production method of the plastics used in the part e.g. extrusion moulding.

(2) From average measurements of randomly selected console samples and three popular selling games.

(3) Estimation based upon power measurements and assumption for PS3 (CEHC) and PS4 (CUH-10x).